Tuesday, 7 October 2014

To the Laos – To the People of God, October 2014

Dear People of God

I
have just come out of my writing sabbatical, which I greatly valued,
and hope to share its fruits with you all through a publication in
the coming months. I returned from sabbatical into Synod of Bishops –
which issued a statement on its concerns – and the annual meeting of Provincial Standing
Committee (PSC), in which we discussed and passed a number of useful
resolutions. Among the presentations and group discussion was the
issue of the biblical and theological underpinnings of
sustainability, and we also set up a small committee to explore the
feasibility of buying land and building our own ACSA conference
centre.

PSC affirmed the principles for establishing a new award in the Province,
the Archbishop's Award to recognize all who serve humanity and
creation along the Mican principles of peace with justice, and who
seek reconciliation. There were also reports and resolutions on such
matters as the environment, with a report on “eco-parishes”, the
phenomenon of young people leaving our church, and the problems we
are having with South Africa's Home Affairs department. You can find
reports on these on the Provincial website. Next year, our church will host a meeting of the Communion's
"Eco-Bishops' Initiative", which will gather bishops from around
the world to discuss the environment.

This was a robust and
less rushed meeting of PSC, which is the highest deliberative body of
our Province between Provincial Synods, and the quality of our
discussion and debate was outstanding. I hope the church will be
enriched by its outcomes and that our canons will also be revised
appropriately to express the growth and development shown at Synod.

We bade farewell to Bishop David Bannerman of the Highveld,
who retires at the end of this year, to Bishop Nathaniel Nakwatumbah
of Namibia, who is retiring next year, and to Prof Barney Pityana,
who will retire from the College of the Transfiguration before the
next meeting of PSC.
We also welcomed warmly Dr Vicentia Kgabe as Prof Pityana's
successor.

Two outside speakers, South Africa's Home Affairs
Minister, Malusi Gigaba, and scenario planner Clem Sunter addressed
PSC. They both called on the church to learn to “do church” in a
democracy and to learn to identify the “flags” signalling issues
which may be challenging the us and calling for action at this time.

After PSC, a group of bishops travelled to Maputo for the
consecration of Bishop Carlos Matsinhe of Lebombo. It was a great day
of celebration and worship – the first consecration in the diocese
in almost 34 years. The service, in a packed basketball stadium, took
about five hours and was lively and enjoyable. President Armando
Guebuza addressed the congregation, as did Bishop Dinis Sengulane.

At the Synod of Bishops, we had agreed that about eight of us
should join Bishop Adam Taaso of Lesotho for an ecumenical service
for lawyers committed to peace, organised in response to the recent
alleged coup attempt and political conflict in that country. So after
Maputo I spent an evening in Johannesburg, then proceeded to Maseru.
I paid a courtesy call on King Letsie III and met with Bishop Taaso
and a few other people to gain a clearer perspective on the issues.
At the service the next day, the Cathedral was packed with people,
including His Majesty the King, Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso,
members of the Senate and various political leaders.

I
preached on the topic of peace with justice, and argued that truth,
respect, reconciliation and forgiveness are non-negotiable elements
for peace. I urged all to play their part in ensuring peace with
justice and pursuing all that makes for lasting peace. I prayed and
spoke of the need to engage in dialogue and to learn from the example
of Moshoeshoe I, who built the Basotho nation. I also affirmed the
role of South Africa's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) team appointed to
facilitate a settlement, and prayed that their efforts would yield
what the Basotho longed for. However, I said it was up to each and
every Mosotho to work for what makes for peace. The King also
addressed the nation, urging peace, and we all lit peace candles and
prayed for peace, rain and the flourishing of all.

Thanks be
to God that the next day, the SADC team seemed to have made headway
and it was announced that there was an agreement to reopen Parliament
– which has been suspended since June – and to hold early
elections next year. We need to give thanks for an early resolution
to the crisis, but we must now pray for peaceful and credible
elections.

In South Africa, we deeply regret the government's
refusal to allow the Dalai Lama into the country to join the Nobel
Laureates' conference, forcing the organisers to cancel the
conference and causing embarrassment to our country.

Further
afield, we urge politicians to resolve the diplomatic tensions over
the collapse in Lagos of the Synagogue Church of All Nations
guesthouse to carry out to conclusion the identification of the
possibly decomposing bodies of those who died. We continue to pray
for their families even as we urge the closure of this horrible and
sad chapter. On the world stage, even where there is peace it seems
to be fragile, and we need to intensify our efforts to ensure peace
with justice.

By the time you read this, I will have visited
the Parish of St Francis in Simonstown, in the Diocese of False Bay,
which this year celebrates 200 years of Anglican ministry in the
town. We congratulate the parish on two centuries of faithful worship
and service. May it grow in strength as it continues to witness to
Christ in our time.

Please pray for the wider Church,
especially where it is already divided or is in the process of being
divided. Pray for sanity and God's intervention, especially in the
situation where a former priest of this Province in False Bay wants
to form his own denomination and thus lacerate and confuse the body
of Christ.

May the church heal its divisions and live out the
vision of Christ, that we be one as he and the Father are one. As
Psalm 133 says:

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when
God's people live together in unity!"